Review: RIVERDANCE 30: THE NEW GENERATION at The Kennedy Center Opera House

 Riverdance has been a globally renowned production for 30 years and is the performance credited with bringing Irish dance culture to the mainstream. While Irish river dancing is at its core, the show also includes operatic singing and live instrumentalists and visual effects and poetry reading, oh my! 

In this updated anniversary addition, Riverdance 30: The New Generation, the company’s goal is to “[rejuvenate] the much-loved original show… and [showcase] the new generation of exceptional performers.” As a new generation of audience member (born 5 years after the first show), I’m not convinced that this particular mix of modern and classic has found its balance yet. Also, take the sensory warning seriously — the strobe effects in “Thunderstorm” were severe enough to make me take my eyes off the stage when the rest of the show made me not want to look away. 

 The performers were indeed exceptional: Several sets of lead dancers alternate performances because of the show's physical demands, and for the March 5th production, the leads were William Bryant and Anna Mai Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick twirled and leaped with a daring energy and emboldened expressions that the back of the house could read. She was at her most empowered with the other female dancers during “The Countess Cathleen” and “Anna Livia” and at her most charming in her solos. Bryant carried a royal, almost arrogant confidence across each scene, and his stomps echoed through the theater and gave meaning to “Thunderstorm.” Their chemistry and personalities on stage were mesmerizing; Every time they embraced and twirled, they had the audience captivated. 

This is not to say the ensemble or musicians were overshadowed: All the instrumentalists’ mastery and joy were undeniable as they pranced playfully around the stage during their solos. Fiddler Haley Richardson was playing so fiercley she broke some bow strings, and Cathal Croke’s uilleann pipe solo “Caoineadh Cú Chulainn” was sharp and sorrowful. Members of The Riverdance Irish Dancing Troupe doubled as The Riverdance Singers and provided the vocals for several scenes, including “Lift the Wings.” To sing and dance in sequence is a superhuman feat: The dancers glided into place with airy steps, and their vocals were simply angelic.

As much as Riverdance highlights superbly talented, world-class dancers and musicians that are the peak of their respective artistry, it confines the talent to a dated, overcrowded plot. With motifs primarily inspired by Irish and Celtic culture and mythology, the production tries to make statements on humanity, its evolution and relationship to nature, and how its cultures interact. However, it’s a feat to fit those themes into 2 hours with the required nuance.

Riverdance attempts to highlight Spanish and American dances in several acts to expand on dance as a connection across cultures. Cultural diversity is certainly appreciated, but it's potentially less impactful when it relies on the stereotypes of those cultures. The scene “Firedance,” while showcasing the stunning art form of Flamenco done by award-winning Spanish dancer Rocio Dusmet, relied on the trope of “fiery” Latin culture by using flames as a visual effect and costume motif. The foray into American history is also stereotypical: "Trading Taps” featured tap dancers Kenji Igus and Dharmesh Patel, notably men of color, who represented the city of Brooklyn and had a West Side Story-esque dance contest with the Irish dancers. 

Igus and Patel had immense skill in the classical and modern styles: Igus’s feet were a blur as he showed off their power and speed to the Irish dancers, and Patel never lost energy as he added flips and jumps to the tapping. Both men earned raucous applause from the audience, but their presence felt more like a showcase than a “fusion,” even when the scene ended with both cultures hugging. The acts have been revised very little in three decades. Meanwhile, the international social climate has changed drastically, so the narrative was less compelling than the culture and artistry. 

The show finds its strength again with the resurgence of the river motif in “Anna Livia,” and “Home And The Heartland/Heartland” is the final scene that takes the dancers back to their roots while showing evolution and new energy. At the encore, the whole theater was on their feet and craning their necks to see the dancers take the stage for the final time. While the Dervish Ensemble dancers came out for a bow in the encore, they did not perform their scene listed in the program, “Macedonian Morning/The Dervish,” which puzzled some audience members and was not clarified by the production. But as the company and lead dancers had their final bow, the claps and buzz of the audience were sustained until the theater was clear. 

Riverdance is a captivating and impressive display of a “new generation” of dancers dutifully carrying on a 30-year tradition. If you’re looking for a technically masterful and dazzling performance and are less invested in the storytelling, then I recommend you catch Riverdance 30: The New Generation on their North American Tour through June 8th. 

Runtime is 2 hours, including 2 acts and a 15-minute intermission

To post a comment, you must register and login.